D’Tigress star Ezinne Kalu made a memorable debut with the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, helping the team secure the final WNBA playoff spot with a 78-67 victory over the New York Liberty at Barclays Center.
The 32-year-old, who had an impressive campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Nigeria, played in the second half as Tina Charles set two WNBA records in one night, becoming the all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles.
Kalu achieved this milestone shortly after signing a seven-day hardship contract with Atlanta, which allows teams to temporarily add players when multiple roster members are unavailable due to injury or illness.
Entering the game, Atlanta knew a victory would clinch their playoff berth, while the Liberty had already secured the No. 1 seed and had little at stake.
The Dream started strong, driven by Charles, who broke Sylvia Fowles’ previous record of 4,006 rebounds just minutes into the game. Needing three rebounds to surpass the mark, she finished the night with 4,014 career rebounds.
Before the game, Charles was honored with an induction into the city’s Basketball Hall of Fame alongside nine other former players and coaches, with her Dream teammates cheering her on.
She is the only WNBA player to achieve over 7,000 points and 4,000 rebounds in her career and ranks second on the all-time scoring list behind Diana Taurasi.
“We came here with our bags packed. We knew we’d take care of business,” Charles said in a post-match conference, as reported on the official Atlanta Dream website.
With the win, the Dream earned the eighth seed for the postseason, setting up a matchup against the top-seeded Liberty, beginning Sunday in New York. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday night.
The eighth-seeded Dream will remain in New York for a best-of-three series against the Liberty, with the first two games hosted in New York, and a potential Game 3 in Atlanta if necessary.
This marks the Dream’s second consecutive playoff appearance under head coach Tanisha Wright, who led the team to a first-round series against the Dallas Wings last year. The Dream last qualified for back-to-back postseasons in 2013 and 2014 and have made three WNBA Finals and seven Conference Finals appearances since 2010.
The 2024 WNBA Playoffs are set to commence on September 22, featuring the top eight teams competing in a best-of-three series.
Winners of each first-round series will advance to a best-of-five semifinal round, with the winners of those matchups progressing to the WNBA Finals, another best-of-five series.
